Finally. It happened. The long long winter is showing signs of weakness. Just a few degrees, mind you, but what a difference those few degrees can make. Just a week ago, this river was a solid block of ice. On the homefront, we have also begun to thaw. There is a steady drip, drip, drip of snow melt from the roof. The snow drifts are sinking and ponding is unavoidable. Coop Town could now be considered lake front property. Normally, we call this area, Lawn.

But winter isn't leaving without a fight. Even though I was ready to get my seeds started in the cold frame, I had to dig through 18" of snow to find it.

The good news: tomato seeds are ready to go!The bad news: the rest of the garden has to wait.

Such is life in the snowbelt. We'll get there, we just have to be patient. In related news, all of our birds survived the winter. The boys suffered some frostbite of the comb, but are otherwise healthy. Big Man spent the winter growing these impressive spurs.

In two weeks we are expecting our first hatch of the season. Farmer Tom has informed me that the generator stands at the ready, in case of power failure, as he learned in previous winters that the incubators MUST NOT LOSE POWER, and that I will not hesitate to sound the alarm even if he is sleeping soundly. Thankfully, he gets it. He is a wonderful man. :) In a month or so, this place will be transformed. With Spring, a new season and new life. It's time to put the dark days behind us and start the cycle all over again. I'm ready. Are you?Feel free to join us on our FB page at fb.com/thepocketfarmer. I hope to see you there!

Hi, I'm Sue Pranskus, and this is my sometime blog. It's mostly about my attempts to "green-up" my life. On our little farm we experiment with livestock, gardening, building, repurposing and anything else that we find interesting. Born and bred on the West Coast, I am living in the Midwest by choice, not circumstance. I have built a life based largely on core values and loosely on whimsy. It's that whimsy, though, that gets me in trouble every time!